With the new season less than 48 hours away, the media caught up with Barnsley defender Alfie Mawson and he gave his thoughts about the season ahead.
The 21-year-old is excited for his first term at Oakwell and is determined to show the fans what the club have to offer.
He said: “I think it’s the same feeling I get every year. We all know what pre-season is for and all the hard work is going to be put into place on Saturday.
“The curtain is up and we’ve got to show what we’ve worked on in pre-season and what we’ve worked so hard for.
“We know the games are coming thick and fast and this is a stepping stone to get us some good results at the beginning of the season.”
Play-off semi-finalists Chesterfield are first up for the Tykes and despite losing a host of key players, the defender knows not to take the Spireites lightly.
“I think they’ll be like most clubs this season, not necessarily in the way of play but they are always going to come out," he added.
“Everybody wants to get a win on the first game of the season, but I think it’s important that we go there and not just play like an away side.
“I think we have more than enough talented players to go and win us the game so we’ll see how it goes.”
Alfie also says that having competition in the side has helped everyone to develop and it will serve him well later in the campaign.
“It’s what you need," he added. "The worst thing is to go to a club and feel like you’re too comfortable because at the end of the day if you get too comfortable, a loan player can come in and push you aside because they’re working harder.
“It’s good to have the competition because it drives you not only in games but in training because it’s the only way you’re going to improve.”
